Pieces by Pieces
by keenan24
Summary: Bonnie and Jeremy's journey toward acknowledging the growing feelings between them.   Spoilers for the latest promo  Sacrifice


**Hello, newbie to the Vampire Diaries fanfic. This is my first fic in the fandom so excuse if the characters are OOC, hope they aren't. Working on some scenes involving Bonnie and Jeremy. There should be 5 to 6 scenes and here are the first 2. Hope you Enjoy.**

**And there are spoilers including the recent promo of episode 10.**

* * *

1

Awkward. The only way he can describe it is awkward. Jeremy 's surveying Bonnie and Luka talk as she tries to reclaim her bearings, her hiccup breath attesting of the strength consuming nature of her powers.

Thanks to the warlock, they had been able to get Stefan out of the tomb while keeping Katherine trapped in it. If it wasn't for Luka, Bonnie would still lay there unconscious, the dusty grimoire by her side. Another name thrown in his recollection, adding to the ever growing list of lost ones. Although this time, it would have been of his own doing. He shakes his head willing away the memory of her weakened petite form lying on the ground.

His eyes briefly catch Stefan's. The youngest if not wisest Salvatore remains silent, once again censoring his thoughts, keeping the scolding intended for his girlfriend's little brother inside, burning the tip of his tongue.

He can feel Katherine's gaze upon his face, lured to the trickles of blood tracing their own path along his temple, fast becoming an itch he cannot scratch. The vampire remains swathed in the pitch black shadows of her new prison, deceptively silent. Her advanced state of decaying has proven too weak to make the best of the opportunity, he inadvertently handed to her, to flee what should have been her grave all those years ago. He can feel her hunger slink over his skin, prick his neck, making him even more grateful for the invisible barrier trapping her in the tomb.

"Bonnie, are you okay?" Stefan steps closer to the young witch who tries to conceal her worn out features beneath her usually radiant smile. It doesn't quite reach her eyes though as she gives a quick nod and stands on her feet.

"Yeah, I'm good now"

"Can you tell me what happened there? You scared the hell out of me"

"it's nothing, Stefan. I'm a bit worn out and the spell was too strong for me"

"You were bleeding, Bonnie", the vampire states, unsatisfied by her answer.

"I'm okay. I'm just tired, that's all". The edge of her voice brooks no argument and Stefan heaves a weary sigh before stepping back.

"You should go find Elena, I'll drive her home". Jeremy steps forward and treads closer to the supernatural trio, inwardly wincing at the blade of pain twisting in his left shoulder. The one on which he landed after Katherine violently shoved him out of her path to freedom. _Vampire hunter 101: never take on a half millennium old vampire. Especially when you're only human_. One of a long list of stupid moves today.

His gaze lands on Bonnie, the witch locking eyes with his. To his relief, he doesn't find anger there, instead her beryl eyes were buoyant with questions he was ready to answer to if only she just let him.

She seems to decipher his silent apology when he sends a coy smile her way, as sign of peace offering. Relief washes over him when she meets the upturn of his lips with her own version, although coated with a touch of uncertainty. The intimate moment is not lost on their audience before she averts her eyes onto an awaiting Stefan. "Jeremy's right, you should go"

Stefan sends a last glance towards the younger Gilbert, a clear as crystal polite version of "please don't fuck up this time" before leaving the tomb.

"You should go as well. I'm sure your dad must be wondering where you are", this time it is Luka who's politely dismissed. "Thanks for everything"

A constricted smile is the warlock's sole answer before turning toward the cave's egress. His retreat is however stopped with Jeremy's voice echoing in the crypt, "Hey man"

Luka turns to face him, features screwed into a cautious mask.

"Thank you. You saved the day and- well, thanks"

"Yeah, no problem".

Jeremy watches his silhouette vanish and reverts his gaze back to Bonnie, his hand grazing the small of her back. "Ready?"

She casts a last glance toward the seemingly black hole shrouding Katherine, puzzled at the vampire's silence since their escape, before meeting his worried eyes, "Yeah, let's get out of here".

The fresh air washes the dank stench of the caves away, as they walk in a tense silence through the woods. She treads a few feet ahead, not allowing him a single glance, her arms hugging her figure, rooting her to a frail sense of reality.

"You know, I'd prefer you yell at me than just ignore me. Not a big fan of the silent treatment, here"

She stops in her tracks and turns to face him, features the epitome of frustration while he braces himself for the upcoming storm. He can't help but notice how her messy locks fall on her eyes or how the green shades of her orbs were coated with sheen of pine. His eyes fall to the curve of her plump lips, the tip of his fingers thrumming with the need to graze the rosy skin, make sure it is as soft as he imagines it is. God, she was beautiful. Though now, she was also pretty furious.

"Look, I know it was a dumb move. I know. I'm sorry –"

"You could have been killed Jeremy! What did you think you would do going there alone, why?"

"I did it for you"

"I didn't ask-"

"Yeah, well I'm sorry but there was no way I was letting you exhaust yourself to death. I'm not going to watch you play martyr because you're too stubborn to ask for help… I can't"

His words seem to find an echo within her as her shoulders slump under the heavy weight of pretense. She looks like Bonnie, the teenager again, not the fearless witch almost goddess she is destined to become. She heaves another weary sigh before meeting his probing eyes once more, "I'm fine".

A wan smile finds its way on his lips, before he closes the distance between them, stopping a breath away from her. Reminiscence of their earlier encounter at the Salvatore mansion fogs his mind. He can still feel the touch of her finger on his lips, just as he can still hear the light caress of her whispered reassurance tickle his ears. He tentatively reaches out before tucking a wayward curl behind her ear.

"You're not fine, Bonnie. You haven't been for awhile, you just play pretend. And I know you can't tell anyone. I understand why. But I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. So … you know, use me, abuse me, I'm all for it", he punctuates with a light laugh fast meddling with her own giggling.

When she meets his eyes again, he can't help himself and holds her in his arms. He smiles at himself when she hugs him tighter, burying her face in the crook of his neck. The scent of earth invades his nostrils laced with lilac and an intimate essence that holds her mark, her hair tickling his cheek.

A moment passes, way too short to his liking, before she untangles herself from his embrace. Her smile is fast replaced by a frown when she spots streams of dried blood on his temple. Her fingers run along the dark red marks, and once again he is surprised, almost proud, at his restraint, fighting the electricity running through him with the simple touch of her hand on his skin.

"You're hurt"

He shrugs, a touch embarrassed, "Yeah, the side effect of royally fucking up"

She snorts and playfully bumps his left shoulder, stifling a gasp when he cries out in pain "Ouch, easy there. I said abuse me not beat me up"

She raises an eyebrow, unimpressed "now who is playing martyr. What if your shoulder is broken?"

"Can't you do your voodoo thing or something, I dunno. You're the witch"

"I thought you did not want me to exhaust myself"

"Point taken".

The playful banter easily settles between them lulling them into a normalcy that has vacated their existence for some time now. Her features light up thanks to another one of her radiant smiles and he can't help but lose himself in those deep eyes of hers. He might have noticed how her features faltered, or the touch of fear that came to quietly erase the mirth sparkling her orbs. He might have if he hadn't been too incensed on studying every outline of her lips, his mouth watering as he imagines the taste of her upper lip caught between his.

"Jeremy?"

His hooded gaze meets her questioning one and he can almost feel her bristle under the intensity of his stare.

"What?"

"Stop looking at me like that"

He can't fight the smirk forcing his way on his features, "like what?"

"You know".

"Come on Bonnie, you're beautiful, I happen to have eyes, normal stuff. Nothing to panic about"

"I'm not panicking", she blurts out, voice too bright not to let him in on her unease

He just offers a soft smile in response, letting her off the hook. For now. Besides it has been a long day, the coming days should be even longer with the Klaus threat looming closer, an additional Sword of Damocles hanging over their already worn out heads.

And that shoulder of his was hurting again.

* * *

2

It's official, she hates vampires.

Sometimes Bonnie wished she could have that switch Damon kept bragging about. The one shutting of every emotion. Then she could light the brightest fire ever seen in the history of Mystic Falls. And burn those creatures once and for all.

They were like insects, kill one bring out a dozen out of the bushes. Parasites, feeding off innocents and stealing and reaping and taking without ever being burdened to give back while she had to clean their mess and fight to keep the most people she could alive.

And she could forget about her pain. The one that threatens to choke her every night, recoiling in the pit of her belly into a bedrock of unease, reminding her of the burden of her powers. She chose to remain in the middle, forever bound to be severed in her allegiances, compromising with her principles for the bigger picture, a hypothetical greater good that now seems like a chimera never to be truly materialized into reality.

She runs a hand over her tired features, lifting her eyes from her grimoire to catch a glimpse of Jeremy and Alaric in deep conversation, the history teacher seemingly showing his young apprentice the art of vampire hunting.

She can't help the smile tugging at her lips, watching the youngest Gilbert share an almost family moment with the one who's fast becoming his mentor. She still has a hard time reconciling this Jeremy with the lost kid who wore his heart on his sleeve, crying out for a care nobody could really offer. One can only take so much loss and she is still amazed how he had kept his head afloat when everything around him seemed bound to wither away and die.

He had told her about his parents, Vicky, Anna. How each loss left him more hollow than before, an empty soul ripped off of its center. Just like she felt when her Grams died.

This shared hurt was bound to bring them closer, and it had. Sometimes, she felt, more than they should be. She doesn't truly know when the lines had blurred or when she decided redrawing them was a futile attempt at ignoring what they were tiptoeing around for some time now.

He never pushed though; he wasn't the arrogant type. Instead he kept making the first move, paving some of the way for her to meet him halfway. She never did. Too uncertain, too scared, too fearful of what the others might say, too busy with her own drama. It didn't deter him from pursuing her though which at first unnerved her but now made her fear the day he'll stop being interested.

And let's face it, she was too. She could dodge them as she wanted but all the signs were there, she had the hots for Jeremy Gilbert like a twilight loving tween on Edward Cullen. Minus the stalking. It is made even more clear when he lifts his head to look at her, his face breaking into a smile, awaking the butterflies that set permanent residence in her stomach ever since that fateful Masquerade Ball.

She replies with a giggly smile of her own, before reverting back to her grimoire, well aware how his gaze lingers on her. And at that moment, she really didn't care whose brother he was.


End file.
